Warcraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans
, Kargath Bladefist, and Kilrogg Deadeye on an Altar of Storms.]] Blizzard began production on this game soon after Warcraft II was complete, though kept news of its existence from the public for quite a while. It was an Adventure game in the same style as Monkey Island, Grim Fandango, and other classic LucasArts and Sierra adventure games. The graphics were all hand-drawn and cell-animated, and then scanned into the game. It was not produced in-house by Blizzard, though Blizzard artists were consulted. The game was ultimately cancelled when Blizzard decided that, while the story and graphics were great, they felt the gameplay was severely lacking. Rather than publish a mediocre game, they chose to cancel it. The storyline was far too important to disregard, however, as it set the stage for the entire Horde campaign in Warcraft III. It was later adapted into the book Lord of the Clans, released about a year prior to Warcraft III. Storyline :"Three great wars between the human Alliance and the orcish invaders have laid waste to the once proud realms of Azeroth. Twenty-two years have past, since Blackmoore found the young orcling, secretly raising the orcling withint the confines of his prison fortress Durnholde. Blackmoore planned to mold the orcling int the perfect warrior. A warrior conditioned to human thinking, but with all the savagery of an orcish heart."-Warcraft Adventures Trailer. :Basically, after the Dark Portal was destroyed and the rift between the worlds was destroyed, you had a large group of orcs that were trapped on Azeroth. And over the course of the next few years, the humans, being merciful in their ways, instead of hunting down and eradicating these orcs, granted them land areas where they could live as long as they lived within the confines of societal expectations. Basically, they were put on these reservations or camps. And because they were made to live in a way that was very contrary to their basic nature, a lot of the spirit and fire that defines them as a culture was drained out of them. And so what you found yourself with was an orc society in Azeroth of forced passivity, not forced through violence but forced through situation. :Although down on their luck, the orcs in Warcraft Adventures were supposed to experience a rebirth, thanks to the leadership of Thrall. :Our storyline followed an orc baby that was taken from a battle scene where his parents were slain and raised by a human lieutenant, Blackmoor, with the intention of raising him with human ideals but being able to use him to control the orcs. Definitely someone who does not fit into the general stereotype of noble humans. He was a self-serving, dark human character who wanted to raise this orc, Thrall, our central character in the game, and use him to control and command the orcs and then raise them as his own private army. Thrall, though he's raised in captivity by humans to serve their will, still has some fire within him that he can't deny, so he rebels against his human owners. He escapes the compound where he's being held, and then over the course of the game, what we do is follow his adventures. As he discovers more about himself and the orcs and what it means to be an orc, so does the player. As you go through the game, you meet some familiar faces from the games, some in retirement, some trying to lead an underground resistance, and you learn of what happened to the Frost Wolf Clan, which was the clan that Thrall's father Durotan was a part of. You learn that Durotan and Black Hand and Doom Hammer were three blood brothers, and that his clan Wolf was sent into the Dwarf Highlands in the mountains. were exiled there by a plotting Nerzhul, when he was pulling the strings in the background behind Doom Hammer and Black Hand, because he knew that Durotan was a threat. :So you find your heritage and then take up the banner of the Frost Wolves to regroup the orcs and lead them in a rebellion against Blackmoor and these humans that are, at least in your mind, enslaving your people. The payoff in the end is that you're able to storm the castle, lead your horde to victory, and reclaim that birthright of the orcs. That was our overarching storyline in a nutshell. And of course, there were tons of other weird characters you meet along the way and interact with.-Bill Roperhttp://www.gamespot.com/features/pcgraveyard/p4_05.html Character summaries Thrall Thrall is the central character in the story. He was raised by Humans in servitude. He escapes his shackles and begins his journey to discover his heritage and reunite the clans. Durotan Durotan is Thrall's father. He is murdered by the unscrupulous Orc brothers Rend and Maim, sons of Blackhand. Orgrim Doomhammer Orgrim is the quintessential 'grandfather' Orc. Orgrim has seen it all and most of his speech recounts certain parts of the Horde's history. Grom Hellscream If rock and roll had ever erupted on Azeroth, Grom would have been its driving force. He is a leather-clad, loudly abrasive Orc who kicks serious ass. Grom is usually boisterous, but also gets down to business in a very no-nonsense manner. Gazlowe the Goblin If Azeroth was New York city, Gazlowe would be a cabby. He's a wise cracking smart-ass, whose only real concerns are besting the Gnomes in an invention and design war. Gazlowe is cranky and abrasive, but means well deep down. What little is known from screenshots from the game, Thrall would have assisted Gazlowe in repair of a Goblin Zeppelin. Perhaps allowing him a way to move around the world easier. Drek 'Thar Drek 'Thar, like Doomhammer, is an old Orc who serves a very paternal role for Thrall. As opposed to Orgrim, Drek 'Thar is a very impatient old fogey. Alexstrasza the Dragon Queen Alexstrasza is easily the most powerful individual on Azeroth. She's a huge red dragon who could just as easily crush an army as cunningly manipulate its leaders to her own ends. She has a brilliant intellect and delights in toying with the lesser creatures who cross her path. Thrall has an encounter with for some unknown reason. He heads to Alexstrasza's Cave (a location hidden somewhere out in the great sea between Kul Tiras and Khaz Modan). During the encoutner he forced to block her fiery blasts with a shield. This version of Alexstrasza is the polar opposite of the canonical version. Zuljin Zuljin is a real character. He was once a notorious bandit, but now sells junk goods in a run-down trading post. Lieutenant Blackmoore Blackmoore is the crafty Human who has no problem with taking advantage of others when they're down. He's a slave-owning, back-stabbing, double-crossing, no-good swindler. This bad guy had also hired the murders of Thrall's father, Rend and Maim. He sends them after Thrall. Rend and Maim Blackhand Rend and Maim were the murderers of Thrall's father, Durotan. Lieutenant Blackmoore also hired them for his own use. They never seem to be too far apart from each other. They appear to be chasing after Thrall to bring him back to Blackhand. They apparently would have been killed by an intense bright light, causing their flesh to melt. Deathwing During one dramatic scene Thrall was to match wits with the dragon Deathwing. Miscommunication led to this scene of the dragon Deathwing smoking a hookah. Blizzard decided to leave it in. Singe Singe was a black drake that served as a pet or advisor to Grom Hellscream. Its unknown if he was meant to be an enemy (perhaps manipulating Grom) and perhaps having connections to Deathwing who was also in the game. Orge Orge was a two headed ogre (or someone accidently mispelled "Ogre"). Uglaz Uglaz was an orc character. Kargath Bladefist Kilrogg Deadeye Nazgrel Press Release The makers of the number-one selling Warcraft series and the runaway hit Diablo bring Warcraft's personality and depth to the adventure genre Irvine, CA, March 17, 1997 -- Blizzard Entertainment announced today Warcraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans, the pivotal next chapter in the epic Warcraft saga. The fantasy adventure game, which is expected to release this holiday season, is the continuation of the Warcraft story and sets the stage for future Warcraft titles. Warcraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans picks up where Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal ended and develops many of the popular characters and locations first introduced in the Warcraft real-time strategy series. Players return to the land of Azeroth as Thrall, a young virile Orc robbed of his heritage after being raised in servitude by humans. Destined to reunite and lead the disbanded Orcish clans, Thrall must escape the Humans' shackles and return the Horde to dominance. Said Allen Adham, president and founder of Blizzard Entertainment, "With Warcraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans, our goal is to recapture the elements that make adventure games great. Players will be immersed in the world of Warcraft with a rich storyline, character interaction and extensive exploration." "The adventure game tells an important chapter in our overall vision for the Warcraft story. For the first time, players will interact with the Orcish Horde, and learn about their history and motivations. The game adds to the depth of the Warcraft universe and provides the back story for future titles." Key features in the game include: *More than 60 stunning locations within seven Azeroth regions. *Intense gameplay filled with puzzles and extensive character interaction. *Over 70 animated characters, including many of the familiar faces from the Warcraft series. *More than 40,000 frames of feature-film caliber animation created by a team of over 50 artists. *Hollywood voice talents of Clancy Brown (Highlander, Starship Troopers, and The Shawshank Redemption), Peter Cullen (Optimus Prime from the animated TV series, Transformers) and Tony Jay (Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame). *A classical soundtrack of Warcraft music. Warcraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans is expected to be available this holiday season in Windows 95 and Macintosh CD-ROM format at most computer and software retail chains nationwide for approximately $50. The game will also be available directly through Blizzard at 1-800-953-SNOW. This game, as well as other Blizzard titles, is distributed by CUC Software. Best known for the number-one selling Warcraft series and the blockbuster hit Diablo, Blizzard Entertainment is an operating unit of CUC International Inc. (NYSE: CU). Category:Sources Category:Games Category:Warcraft Adventures Sources *Warcraft Adventures - The Game That Never Was